Rio's Finest
by NobleChild
Summary: A small visit to the beach after a Showdown in Rio didn't seem like a bad idea. It was hot, and the view was incredible, right? Yeah. At least until Raimundo decided to hit on a beautiful blue eyed girl and... some other pretty girls as well. Nothing better then a small, lonely, visit through Copcabana so Kimiko wouldn't burn him alive. But who said she'd be alone?
1. Of Pretty Girls in Red Bikinis

**Hi, there! Well, this is the first fic I post here, and I really hope you like it. At first , I'd like to say that unfortunately I don't have a beta reader for this story (and if you want to be one, please contact me :)) So I had to re-read this peace a lot and a lot times, and due to college it took me a good amount of two (or more) weeks to finish one chapter... :( Buut, at the same time, I hope this is enough to give you a nice comprehension of the text. (this story won't last more than three chapters.**

**Another thing I'd like to say is that there will be parts with Portuguese speaking (very little ones, don't worry) and the translations will be found in the glossary in the end of each chapter.**

**Also: I don't know anything about surfing, but I did a little basic research of the subject on Google, and took what I thought would be necessary to write something realistic of one of Raimundo's favorites acivities. If anything about the matter is wrong to someone who practices this activity, contact me as well,okay? I'd be really happy to change it ;)**

**That's it for the while! Enjoy it, and thanks for passing by! (I don't own any of the character, unfortunately)**

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_Chapter 1: Of Pretty Girls in Red Bikinis_

The sun was inexplicably scorching over the golden carpet of sand that covered the coast of Rio de Janeiro. People of all ages - and nationalities - gathered in front of the salty and refreshingly inviting water that moved in a sometimes monotonous, sometimes chaotic rythm. Each enjoying the amazing scenery in their own way - some taking care of their young children, building sandcastles, and giving them the necessary protection to play in the sea, others just lounging on their mats or even reading books under umbrellas; the sound of waves constantly muffled by the noise of children laughing, friends talking and vendors announcing their products.

Kimiko's feet were increasingly red as she walked on the beach over the warm sand. Her attention at the moment turned to other issues, preventing her from enjoying the beautiful view she had and the, somehow, unique oportunity to meet the so called Marvelous City and its beach, which looked more like a paradise that opposed with the brightness of the buildings and noise of horns and cars coming from behind.

Everything seemed unimportant to her. Though she always wanted to visit this place since she heard so much of it from her father's friends and coworkers, and more recently in the Xiaolin Temple, she'd always be the type of person who prefered indoors... with a good WiFi connection.

Moreover, the ability she was having to enjoy what was around her vanished in measly seconds.

Her eyes remained fixed in front of her as she walked aimlessly around the beach, but not exactly paying attention at whatever could come in her way.

How could he do that? That question echoed through her head proving to be hard to forget and fueled even more her already short temper. Murmuring phrases that mostly contained the name Raimundo in them, she tried to cool off as she struggled to forget the scene she witnessed a few minutes ago...

A rented surf board, a wave appearing out of nowhere and a girl with golden hair and hourglass shaped body.

Clenching her fists and biting her lips on the inside, Kimiko tried to focus on something else that wasn't the small piece of cloth that woman was wearing.

Heat rose through her body, burning every fiber of her being, making the beach temperature seem uncomfortably scorching to her median figure.

The sun wasn't like that a few hours ago since they arrived in the region. It was warm, yes, but a comforting kind of warm. That changed after a certain tall, green-eyed brunette got on her nerves. Surprisingly, everything got much hotter for her liking and she could not understand why.

"Asshole," she kicked a small lone tin can that crossed her path over the sand. Her murumurs only audible to herself as she remembered what happened.

_Some hours ago_

"Hoo-wee," the cowboy said after a few minutes in silence while admiring the beautiful view he had from the hill he and his friends were at thee moment. They were standing on a street that led, from one side, higher up, where the famous Brazilian favelas were located and from the other to the multitude of buildings, houses, ports and, most importantly, a beautiful beach located right next to a greenish and curiously rounded peak. Further back, entering the city, another elevation got the attention of the passersby, with the majestic figure of a man in marble with arms wide open, contemplating, in an eternal gaze, the city under him.

"Rai, partner," the Texan's gloved hand rested on his leader's right shoulder; his eyes, however, never letting go of the beautiful view he was given. "I now believe in every single word you were saying, and I can tell without a shadow of a doubt that you were not exaggerating."

Beside him, the Brazilian let out a smile that betrayed his pride and at the same time left a gleam of nostalgia over his eyes.

"I don't exaggerate, Clay," he replied, shrugging and throwing the newest oriental relic he acquired to the little dragon by his side. The hasty claws of the small shapeshifter quickly catched the golden Wu and placed it safely inside the purse of the only female member of the group.

Heaving a sigh of relief and hiding a little bit of anxiety, Raimundo rubbed his hands, saying enthusiastically, "So," he offered his trademark smirk, with only one corner of his mouth turned upwards. "Since we got the Wu, and have some time to spend, why don't we take this chance to visit this incredible beach right there?" with his thumb, he pointed at the beautiful coastline placed in a reasonable distance from where they were, up the hill.

Clay lowered his face to meet his friend's gaze and they both smiled, shrugging. As they attempted to speak they were soon interrupted by the fourth member of the group who was fascinated by the beauty of the city and especially the sea he saw before his very eyes. "That would be a mooooost exciting idea!" the little bald monk exclaimed as he entusiastically leaped in front of them.

His companions smiled in response and didn't take long to agree going down the hill and rest a bit after a wearing Xiaolin Showdon, which they won, thanks to their Shoku Leader.

Walking quickly to their destination without wanting to spend any more time away from that wonderful striking view, the monks went down the hill and soon arrived in a street parallel to the coast of Copacabana beach - as Raimundo said it was called, besides mentioning that it was one of, if not, the most expensive beach of the city.

Even as they were wearing shoes, the asphalt looked like hot plate over their feet, their clothes felt like a burden than anything else, their faces were dripping, releasing droplets of sweat, expressing their thirst and desire to reach the sand and sea, wanting to feel the pleasant cold wind hit against their bodies.

The three Xiaolin Dragons thanked for their leader being grown up in the region, because they haven't even reached the street, and Raimundo quickly indicated a small store that sold bathing suits and accessories for water activities in a relatively low price.

The boys were quick in their choices, each wearing beach shorts of different colors with simple tropical patterns. Putting their clothes and utensils that would remain unused for the day in a newly purchased bag, the three were soon ready to leave the store if it wasn't for a certain Japaneses girl who still was choosing which swimsuit she'd wear (even if it would be surely discarded after their small trip to Rio de Janeiro was over).

The Brazilian seemed the most restless of them three, looking through the glass door, at the beach just a street away from his body, which screamed to enter the water and feel the wind pull his form to create a wave of crystalline water that'd give him the required dose of adrenaline. Not to mention the reward he would have after leaving the water.

His eyes wandered from the blue horizon, noticing striking silhouettes passing by the dry area of the beach. Walking from one side to the other, they quickly took his attention... with different heights, skin tones, hair colors, face shapes - and other kinds of shapes - not to mention the different model's of bikini in which the Shoku Warrior didn't care to pay attention right now.

Raimundo smiled. Yes ... how he missed that. Years living in a temple full of old men, without any female figure to make him company really made him a little anxious to revisit the city he spent most part of his life. Even more a city like this, where the sun chose to leave it in a hot, sometimes dry, weather in the most part of the year. Great to wear small pieces of cloth.

And there was nothing better than going to a beach on a day like this. It seemed like the sun itself liked the vision it provided.

Spotting a small kiosk that surely rented surfboards, the Shoku Warrior soon lost the little patience he had left and turned to his cowboy friend, handing him the travel bag.

"I'm gonna get a surf board right there. Don't wanna wait in a big line, you know? See ya there," and with that he was gone as fast as a gust of wind, as if he had never been there a few seconds ago.

He soon sighed and, before he could mumble something, the blonde Texan was interrupted by a little poke on his shoulder. Turning his face backwards, Clay soon found his raven-haired friend wearing a loose bun over her head, slippers, sunglasses and a white lacy beach cover-up that exposed her vivid-red bikini under the fine tissue (nothing vulgar, but clearly attractive).

"Finally got to choose something to wear, Kim?" he asked as he blushed for being caught by surprise staring at the large amount of skin her legs exposed.

She agreed and soon turned her attention from the cowboy to find a yellow bald head looking around some beach toys in display next to the door they were. "Where's Rai?" was her question as she put her own handbag over her shoulder.

"Uhhh," Clay wasn't sure if telling the truth was the best idea. Of course he knew exactly why his friend wanted so much to get at the beach, and he knew it wasn't because of the food. "He went to get a surfboard," he tried to waer a smile to make it look convincing.

Kimiko raised both eyebrows, but seemed not to protest or change her tone when she spoke again. Something in her eyes seemed to change, though...

"So why are we here? Come on, this place is too cold for my liking," to emphasize what she said, Kimiko rubbed her upper arms and stared angrily at the air conditioner stuck on the wall just above their heads.

Clay offered her a half smile as he pulled his small monk friend away from the store and the pool noodles, the temperature around their bodies dramatically changing as they left the store. Even for someone who lived most of his life in an arid, almost desert, territory, Clay was surprised.

It was really, really hot. And it didn't help being used to the cold that was going aorund China. December was almost near and snow seemed eager to start falling and whiten the green fields around the temple they lived.

He remembered Rai explain that, since Brazil is a country with most of its part located in the South Hemisphere, the seasons were all reversed. In other words, it was summer season in Rio de Janeiro and it looked like it was going through one of its hottest days of the year, at least according to what the journalist on the tv said. Clay couldn't understand much Portuguese, but since said language sounded a bit like Spanish - a language he's been learning since childhood - he was able to get some quick words the woman said on the screen like _dia_, _quente_(calitente) and _ano_.

Also considering the fact that it didn't rain for quite a while in the city, its atmosphere was relatively dry - that information he got from the friendly saleswoman who started a small chat as they were buying their bathing suits, speaking with a very well-trained English, just like Rai. The cowboy even found it hard to believe he was Brazillian, since it was very rare to hear him say something that would give away his accent. Well... there were always those moments that seemed to get Raimundo on his nerves, then he'd start shouting strange words in a chaotic Portuguese that was too fast to be understood by anyone that didn't have it as a native tongue.

Like when Omi by "accident" dropped a stone three times his size over Raimundo's foot after finishing his workouts. The Brazilian threw himself on the floor with both hands holding his injured foot and he shouted something like, "_Puta que pariu, Omi. Um dia desses eu te mato e eu não tô brincando! Acidente uma ova!_" Clay again resorted to his Spanish skills and he knew some words didn't sound very positive.

Using his hat to make a shadow over his blue eyes and getting closer to the beach, Clay immediately began searching for his friend at kiosks around him with an annoying, restless Omi by his side asking questions that, thanks God, couldn't be understood by half the people on that beach. Kimiko on the other hand, being used since childhood to an execive number of trips around the world - thanks to her father - knew exactly how to behave, even though she had never visited the Marvelous City before.

The strands of hair escaping her bun brushed against her face the few times the wind decided visit, which became more frenquent after a certain Xiaolin Dragon vanished from their sight.

She gave one small, but deep sigh. He's always been like this... Unpredictable.

_Like the wind, Kimiko, like the wind_, she thought to herself, sliding her sunglasses from the top of her head to the front of her eyes. "Makes sense," she whispered looking around, searching for her missing friend with a bitter feeling invading her chest.

Taking another sigh as she kept walking around the beach with her two other friends, the Japanese focused only in the heat the sun was providing her. To mostly everyone, this temperature was considered a nuisance, too hot and too dry, it could irritate the most sensible skins. But to her... to her, everything was perfect. To her it loooked like paradise and there were few times she felt so fine because of the weather.

Every inch of her body seemed to awaken a side on her that she didn't know she posessed. Maybe it came from her Xiaolin Dragon part, maybe it came from her own nature... but it didn't matter. What mattered was how that side showed how much intimacy she shared with the heat, with the high temperatures, with light, with the energy around her... with the fire.

Upon noticing a drastic change of movement by her side, Kimiko turned to her friend and saw him waving to someone else approaching straight ahead.

Leaving aside the particular moment she was having with her surroundings, the Japanese forgot about everything around and focused her attention on the person right in front of her.

Six feet one of (God, how he had grown since they first met!) well-defined muscles for an eighteen-year-old, brown hair somewhat lighter at the tips, sun-kissed skin giving it a nice tanned tone that matched with a pair of dark green eyes and white smile with a slightly chipped tooth...

If there was an expression such as Brazilian god, Raimundo would surely be one.

Although they saw each other every day, and fought and related the way only friends of many years could, and even though she's already seen him wear various types of cloth... Kimiko has never seen Raimundo wear so little. Or better, she already has witnessed some rare moments like that one... But in some years later, the words vacation, swimming or any other kind of activity related to that wasn't in the monk's vocabulary anymore, and sure enough, a lot could change in the physique of a person with insessant (and daily) trainning and healthy diet provided by a monk's way of life. Not to mention Raimundo's fast metabolism and body that could gain muscles quite easily.

She didn't know if she was thinking too much on things like that, didn't know if the burning sesation on her cheeks were because of the sun, much less if someone could've noticed the slight dropping of her jaw, but Kimiko quickly expelled all the thoughts that had to do with the matter as soon as she noticed all the symptoms above.

Without anyone noticing, she lightly shook her head, hoping with all her might that no one saw the situation.

Quietly switching the new surfboard he acquired from one arm to the other, the Shoku Warrior decided to tell his friends about the place he had just reseved, although Clay seemed to be the only one in the group paying attention to his words -Omi was too busy asking senseless questions to himself and Kimiko seemed to be lost in her own thoughts as her eyes sparkled and her white face seemed to turn redder and redder, problaby because of the sun burning her light skin. "Uh, I just got us some chairs right there," he pointed to four beach chairs placed a few feet away with two umbrellas stcuk in the sand.

Clay was the only one who nodded, but as he started waliking toward the chairs, Omi and Kimiko followed him without a second thought. The four sat down with relief and started to watch everything around the beach.

Omi felt excited about everything he had seen and seemed to want to learn more with each passing minute; each person, each new object, each meal seemed to increase his curiosity.

Althought he had already visited various beaches in various parts of the world during their usual Shen Gong Wu hunts, none of them were compared to this one. The sand was incredibly light and thin, the sky was cloudless with a green horizon that decorated the beautiful blue-colored sea illuminated by the sunlight that also hit the white and grey buildings of the city behind.

Its waves crashed in a mesmerizing way and Omi found himself fully aware of the oscillating of that salty water, concentrating in every drop that spilled over the sand or back to itself, in each new (large or small) wave that began to form, producing a deep, penetrating sound to his ears. That noise reminded him of something familiar, something he's used to hear every day... like voices.

Omi smiled. Ever since he was a baby, he grew up learning that everyone has a connection to the essence of the world around them, everything possessed some kind of life, energy, but very few could feel them. Sure, he was one of those people ... Someone who heard the water, who could see more than just those waves.

He was a Xiaolin Warrior in the end...

Letting a big smile show up on his face, Omi hugged his knees and kept listening to the ocean talking to him, ignoring all the other sounds around that weren't of his interest.

He had so much to hear...

Tilting his head backwards, Clay quickly closed his eyes and slept with his ten gallon hat hiding his face from the sun . Everything was perfect to take a little nap... and that's what he did.

Kimiko sat next to Rai as she put her bag by her side, taking the sunglasses off her face.

Sitting on the beach chair with his elbows resting on his knees and the surfboard beside him, Raimundo was unable to hide his anxiety as he looked at the sea. His fingers played with each other and he seemed to be thinking of nothing else but what he saw before him.

Again, the wind was calling. Talking, murmuring, whispering things in his ear like a soft, sweet woman's voice. The sound was hypnotizing, and made him anxious.

His feet began to swing uneasily on the sand and his fingers seemed not to want to stop moving.

Another voice, distant and unattainable to him, a voice he struggled to the utmost to ignore all these years said something. And it spoke stronger than any other voice around him... as usual. Invading his ears in a s,oft, comforting tone to his entire being he could understand only a part of what she said.

"... hungry. Do you know any place with nice food around here?"

"Uh," without moving his eyes, now attracted by a beautiful silhouette with golden hair that had just passed before him and stopped to observe some bracelets from a beach hawker nearby, Raimundo just responded with his voice, without meeting her gaze. "Food. Yeah ..."

He couldnt see her expression, but something told him that it wasn't one of the best at the moment.

Trying to fix his mistake was not an option right now. So, instead, he turned all of his attention to what interested at the time. "I think there must be... a good place ... nearby..."

Grabbing his surfboard without saying a word, Raimundo rose from his chair.

He smiled as he deeply inhaled the hot air. In an immediate response, a gust of welcomed refreshing wind hit the coast, shaking umbrellas, pieces of cloth, locks of hair... and most importantly, the salty waters of the sea.

Forming perfect waves, that would leave any other beach jealous, the wind soon caught the attention of all the surfers, until then bored, sitting on the sand. Some swimmers, who certainly weren't prepared to the unexpected change of behavior from the sea (so far, it was quite calm), quickly came out of the water, carrying their small children away from the stream that could pull them far from the sand.

Raimundo increased his smile and started running towards the sea that seemed to call him home.

Taking advantage of the path he took (on porpouse), he used the arm that held the surfboard to brush it light and carefully against the beautiful blonde by his side.

At the feel of the contact, her body immediately reacted by lifting her head toward the reason of her nuisance. Her natural red lips quickly softened when her baby-blue eyes met Raimundo's emerald-green ones.

Quickly, without seeming to want to stop to apologize properly, the Brazilian said in a fast Portuguese, "_Opa, desculpa, linda,_" and, ending the sentence, gave her that smile... the one that immediately changed the expression of any one, that emanated a hidden intent and hinted a malicious twinkle in his eye. Something that made anyone speechless.

She blushed, but he was already too far away to notice.

As his feet met the water, Raimundo could not help but smile once more. Nostalgia filled his thoughts and the rest of his body wanted more.

Leaning on the surfboard he got, he began his course to the deep part of the sea, his eyes shinning with desire for a perfect wave and his smile revealing that he was aware of the baby-blue eyes staring at him from the sand.

That didn't make him nervous at all. He was used to it. Besides, it was something he liked... and he should enjoy it the most.

"Come on," he whispered to an invisible presence that only he seemed to notice.

At his will, the wind soon heard him and once again began to work earnestly against the heavy waters of the sea. Waves and waves started to form again, each bigger and more beautiful than the last in Raimundo's view.

Everything was perfect.

Scanning each ripple creted in front of him, his eyes looked for the wave that he knew would be his.

A few seconds passed... and soon it came.

At the beginning, it was something small and insignificant, barely noticed at the horizon, but as it neared the coast, its mass increased, and with it, its speed and strength too.

Again he smiled, proud of his work.

"Nice job, all right," he whispered as he prepared himself for that perfect wave, still growing a few feet away from his tall, lean figure, tensed by anxiety, but calm and controlled at the same time.

Moving so that his feet pointed towards that wave, Raimundo rested his belly over the smooth, icy surface of the surfboard.

Without even looking back, but focusing on the familiar vibrations the water produced as it was disturbed by the wind, Raimundo waited for the wave to reach him with a smile on his face.

The turmoil around him was growing and the water just warned the uneasy Brazilian that his long wait had finally come to an end.

It was right there.

Without hesitating for even a second, he moved in planned and precise ways.

Everything happened in seconds, but it felt like hours to him. Hours of pure adrenaline and silence in his ears.

First, he was pulled upwards, almost reaching the top of the water wall that threatened to tilt and mold a beautiful crest of white and blue. Rising, Raimundo quickly found his balance over the surfboard and it seemed just like an extension of his body. Then again he moved it, looking for a balance in the crystalline sea of chaos around him. Finding it in just a heartbeat, adrenaline continued to invade his body, making his heart beat faster and his mouth want to scream in enthusiasm.

Soon, he found himself in exactly the part he liked most. The wind was now stronger than ever against his face, the speed of the surfboard under his feet against the water was precise: not too slow and not too fast. Looking in front of him with deep breaths, he could see a part of the wave still forming straight ahead.

Focusing on reaching it, Raimundo began to zigzag his board lightly against the water, reaching where he wanted in seconds.

In the next instant, he moved his surfboard upward, using his weight to maneuver it, and quickly reaching the lip of the wave. It was easy to feel when his board got completely separated from salty water and his body interacted only with the wind around him, making a perfect spin.

He didn't use his powers, he didn't need any kind of mystical or supernatural gifts to get where he was. All he had done so far (creating the wave didn't count) was simply by himself. Just Raimundo Pedrosa, an eighteen-year-old used to the chaotic movement of the water and the surfboard under his feet since he was a little kid.

It didn't take long to notice that his surfboard reached the water again. Raimundo quickly came back to his senses and focused on gaining balance over the wave.

Smiling, Raimundo enjoyed the last few seconds he had before that paradise of whites and blues dissipated under his feet.

A few minutes after taking the "Wave of Luck" that emerged in the sea of Copacabana, the Shoku Warrior finally decided to return to the sand. When he felt the water could only reach his knees, he took his surfboard and shook his head to remove the excessive droplets of water from his brown thick hair.

Putting his feet on the dry sand, the first thing he found was a pair of baby-blue eyes that he doubted departed from him ever since he entered the water.

The girl seemed embarassed one more time and redirected her eyes to the handicrafts of another Hawker (sunglasses this time). Althought it seemed like she didn't want it to look evident, the fact that she didn't move from the spot she was when their eyes met for the first time showed her interest on the Shoku Warrior, and this made him smile.

She met his gaze again and once more turned her face down as she noticed the tips of his mouth moving upwards. This time, however, she also smiled, and that was enough to make him go right where she was and start talking with those beautiful full lips. Not before noticing more figures aproaching him.

Mostly female voices surrounded him slowly and he could just get some parts of each sentence spoken, all in a Portuguese with local accents.

"_Como você fez aquele aéreo?_" "_É impossível!_" "_Aquilo foi incrível, cara!_"

Again, he liked the attention he was receiving.

Kimiko soon returned to her initial position, throwing herself over the chair with a reddened face and staring at the small crowd building up in front of her.

How could she think that the first thing he would do was walk straight at her? It was obvious with who he wanted to talk first after he left the water and it was certainly not her ... A tall, pretty blonde with hourglass body a few feet ahead of her seemed to be the right answer.

Knowing fully well that she didn't understand a tiny bit of Portuguese - she was beginning to learn the language a while ago thorugh online courses, and the the best she could get was "_Oi, tudo bem? Meu nome é Kimko!_" - she wrote the phrase he said to the girl in the translator box.

His answer wasn't exactly something positive to read, and she quickly put her cellphone over her bag with the words _Oops, sorry, beautiful._ written on the screen.

Putting his words aside, Kimiko was absorbed when she watched him surf on the sea.

If she weren't able to see his feet, she could have seen it wrong and thought that Raimundo was actually flying. Every maneuver, every movement seemed so well calculated, but at the same time so natural and unpredictable. She could not help but grin seeing her Xiaolin friend surfing like that.

He surely was really, _really_ good.

Letting a bigger smile escape her mouth, she waited out of the water. Waited for him to return to where he was before.

Still in the water though, she realized that his attention wasn't directed at her. Perhaps it never was...

Five more girls gathered around him - not to mention the one Raimundo managed to steal the attention before he entered the water - and at the time she noticed how he looked at each of them, and how he smiled at each of them, Kimiko decided to get up and get far away from where she was before she set the chair on fire.

Stomping her feet against the sand as she walked with clenched fists, Kimiko simply said to the only person capable of hearing her at the moment, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna take a little walk," and walked away without even looking back.

_**Glossary**_

**Dia:** day

**Quente:** hot

**Ano**: year

**Puta que pariu, Omi. Um dia desses eu te mato e eu não tô brincando! Acidente uma ova!:** (all right that one's pretty shitty) Holy fuck, Omi. One of these days I'll kill you and I'm not kidding! Accident my ass!

**Como você fez aquele aéreo?:** How did you do that air? (Air is a surfing maneuver)

**É impossível!**: It's impossibe

**Aquilo foi incrível, cara!**: That was awesome, man!

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**Hope you like it, and PLEASE, REVIEW! Thank you so much! 3**


	2. A Boy like the Wind

**Heya! I'm back with a new chapter hehehe Sorry for the long wait and hope you like this one!**

**I'm still in search for a beta! If anyone wants to help please contact me! Thank you all for the reviews!**

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_Chapter 2: A Boy like the Wind._

She had no idea what attracted her there.

Maybe the different decoration? Old eletric guitars hanging around the walls along with posters of what seemed Brazillian Rock Bands...

Maybe.

Maybe it was the music-?

Yeah, it was familiar. She remembers hearing it in her free times at the temple. They weren't from her IPod, though. No, far from it.

They came from her leader's part of the room everytime he finished a long and tiring Shoku training that usually accompanied him after his chores. He'd just appear at their shared room with an exausted expression on his face, looking too tired to even complain about Master Fung's apparent sense of what a healthy trainning was, turn up his small radio placed in the corner of his cubicle and fall straight over his mat - sweaty, dirty and all (at this, Kimiko couldn't blame him, Master Fung could really wear someone out when he wanted).

But the rythm of the songs were nice... and she liked it.

Yeah, it was _definetly _the music that attracted her there.

She couldn't understand one single word. But that didn't stop her from enjoying it.

At least the band wasn't completely unknown by her - she saw its name on the cover of one of Raimundo's CDs.

She googled it afterwards. Curious, but too stubborn to ask him directly. (He'd problaby say something like "What, you're interested in what I like, huh? I always knew you had a thing for me, Kimi," and she didn't want to hear that).

It didnt take her long enough find information about the band. Its was quite famous in Brazil.

The singer died long ago, but his music kept on being loved by many generations. His voice was strong and melodic, and his words were really inspiring and surprisingly romantic.

Kimiko smiled as she looked at the menu placed over one of the small tables of the diner. The place was very different from the other restaurants that occupied the long avenue that contoured a great part of the city's coastline.

With a low illumination, high stools spread in a line in front of the counter and old rock music playing in the distance between the Brazillian ones, Kimiko felt as though she was inside of an 80s Rock Bar. The food looked nice enough, but most of them she neved heard of. The rest she was partly aware because of Raimundo.

The price looked cheaper than many places around her, being perhaps the reason for there to be quite a bit of people in there.

Oh, well... now that she was there and most of her anger appeared to vanish, the only thing she could do by now was to calm the rest down with a good glass of... (she narrowed her eyes as she tried to read a specific word written in Portuguese) _Suco de maracujá_.

Seemed nice enough. It had a good appearence in the photograph and she heard Raimundo saying it was good to calm down...

Maybe she would get calmer throwing that glass over his head.

She took a deep breath and put the menu down.

Forgetting him was the best she could do now.

Hell, she was in one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and she couldn't enjoy it because of... jealousy?

Well, it wasn't _her _fault that everything around her reminded her of him! He lived there a great part of his life, it was _impossible_ not to think of Raimundo everytime she thought about Rio de Janeiro.

She sighed.

How did things get _this _complicated?

Liking boys and getting so nervous about it?

Well, yes, she used to have some harmless crushes back in Tokyo, but nothing like _this_. This jealousy, this anger, this lack of control over emotions she thought she wouldn't be feeling so soon.

This wasn't her. She usually kept control over situations like these. Always several steps ahead of idiots who thought she was just a "pretty face" to be used.

Until _he_ came into her life and messed everything up, with his convinced attitude and mischievous grin, looking at her like his next target, his new different toy to be played with until he found something more interesting.

It was easy to deal with him and his "charm"at the beginning (the _very _beginning), but the situation soon slipped out of her control and before she could tell, her heart started to beat faster when he was around. Way beyond his "good-looks" and arrogant behavior there was something else that seemed to catch her attention, but he usually hid it very well, as if afraid of that part.

She remembered really well how she felt her heart break into peaces when he berayed them... When he betrayed _her_, out of pride. She was able to hide it well, of course, but deep inside she was still hurt and... _crushed_. It took her a long time to fully trust him again.

Once he became their leader, she felt like everything came back to how it was right before his betrayal. Even the cocky annoying part who usually would hit on girls everytime they went out on a Shen Gon Wu hunt was back in full force.

Today was no exception, she knew, because there he was again, probably with the company of that pretty, tall, blonde in red bikini, doing God knows what with her. And here she was - still feeling broken because of him. The only difference being her awereness of the feelings she developed for him.

She accepted them. But one moment she'd have to move on, to understand that he wouldn't be feeling the same way for her and that she'd have to understand it. That one day, he might finally settle down with someone else who wasn't her, and she'd have to watch him having a life and smile like she supported it one hundred percent.

Maybe not yet.

The memory of his hand touching the tanned skin of that pretty girl invaded her had, making her teeth bite her bottom lip.

She still was pretty mad at him.

"_Com licença_,_ você já fez seu pedido?_" a voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts and Kimiko had to contain herself from jumping out of surprise over her chair - she _really _was distracted, damn it.

Her faced turned directly to the source of that male voice behind her holding a waiter pad and wearing a black apron.

"Oh, uh..." she blushed for being incapable of understanding his words. "Sorry... I don't- I don't speak Portuguese."

He looked at her from his pad and smiled, taking her by surprise considering how serious he looked a second ago. "Oh, that's ok," he replied quickly. "We're used to English-spearkers here. You're American right?"

She avoided his eyes for a second, not being in the mood for small talks with anyone. Even if he was just the waiter around, Kimiko wanted to be sure he wouldn't try to start a conversation with her.

"No, I'm not. I'm Japanese," was her answer. Short, straight to the point and it surely didn't sound friendly.

"Oh, alright," he smiled again, and she had to contain her childish side from blocking her eyes from his white, shinny-looking teeth with her hands (if Clay was there, he'd have laughed). "Sorry, for that then," the man's mood seemed unchanged by her cold behaviour and didn't stop him from talking normally as well, "I just wanted to know if you already ordered something."

She raised her eyebows and quickly took the menu from the table again. "I think I'll have a cup of this..." she narrowed her eyes once more. "Suulcow de... marrawcowja."

Kimiko heard him let scape a muffled laugh and she blushed madly hiding part of her face behind the menu. _What's so funny, jerk?_

"_Suco de maracujá_ it is," he quickly wrote on his pad with a small smile on his lips.

Even if she wasn't willing to admit, Kimiko knew he wasn't exactly mocking her. He was just having fun and it wasn't because of her poor ability of pronounciation. It was because something else. Something she still didn't know.

Looking at him from the corner of her eyes as he wrote down part of her order, his features were easier to be studied.

He wasn't _that_ old. He didn't seem much older than her, actually - maybe in his nineteens. Like hers, his hair was dark black, only wavy and disheveled in many places - didn't seem like he cared to comb it. Tall and sun-kissed skin which made his honey colored eyes seem lighter than they appeared to be.

What called her atention the most was his laid-back and likable atittude. His body language and the little words he said to her were enough to prove it: relaxed shoulders, slightly curved posture, usually present half-grin and a calm rythm in his talk.

His eyes suddenly left the waiter pad at his hand and met hers, as if noticing her gaze towards him ever since the beginning. "Want something to accompany your drink?" again his voice and attitude sounded unchanged by her behavior - except for a little sparkle in his eyes that appeared the moment he caught her red-handed.

Kimiko blushed even more, hating herself for being caught doing something she considered so stupid, and quickly moved her eyes to the menu in her hands, trying to find a dish she knew before things got more unconfortable.

"Uhm," her hands started to sweat as she increased her grip around the the menu. "I think I'll go for this.. uh..."

_Okay, Kimiko. This is starting to look much more awkward than you though it would. Do something!_

"Uuuuh-" she kept on searching for something but any of the words in front of her seemed to ring a bell on her head. Where were all of those dishes she recognized so well before that anoying waiter came around?

She stayed like that much longer than necessary, and before a word could come out of her lips, he was the one who broke the unconfortable silence, "You want me to recommend you something?"

His question took her by surprise. But even if he meant well, her stubborn side reacted before she could do something to stop it. For a moment, she forgot her embarassement and looked straight into his eyes. "No, I can help myself here."

He smiled again, but this time seemed to be taken back from the sudden bitterness in her words. Keeping a safe distance from the funny Japanese girl and her glare, he waited patiently for her to make her order.

After saying those words, her confidence came back and she finally found a dish that seemed interesting enough. "I'll go for this... uh," she pointed at its respective picture in the menu. "Uhm... bowlinho dew..."

"_De bacalhau_?" he completed her phrase with a suspicious grin. Before she could reply - which wasn't going to be a nice answer - he said again, "Codfish balls it is."

"A what now?" she raised an eyebow at his words, confused.

His grin increased as he looked away from his pad after checking her order, "Codfish balls. That's what you said right? It's the translation."

"Oh," she frowned as she noticing how cheeky his last words sounded.

Kimiko bit her tongue before she could retort and turned her body back to her initial position, refusing to look at him in the eye again.

In the end, she still was feeling angry, but for slight different reasons now: before, it was Raimundo, and currently it's this _other _Brazillian guy, whose name she didn't even know to begin with.

Were all of the Brazillian _that _irritating? She hoped not. She still wanted to enjoy Copacabana a little bit and the last thing she needed was a bunch of people who acted just like Raimundo. She still had some time, and the Xiaolin monks' ride home was in a deep sleep under Clay's hat, which meant they woudn't be going away too soon...

Curious to see if that waiter still was beside her, Kimiko risked a look over her shoulders and her eyes caught his back as he walked to the counter.

Her head turned a little bit more towards him as he moved away - until the unexpected spun his body gave making him cath her staring at him for the second time that day.

_Shit_, Kimiko quickly turned her head, feeling her cheeks redden each shameful second.

Before ahything else happened, he was back at her side and spoke with another cocky grin, "By the way, if you find it difficult to say your orders in Portuguese, there's an English version of them at the end of the menu."

Widening her eyes was imposible to avoid as she hated herself even more and her cheeks redden.

Knowing fully well that she couldn't undo the embarassing mistake, Kimko once again stared at the waiter dead in the eyes and replied, "I knew it already."

Not even Omi would've bought that lie.

Well, maybe he would (the kid was _that_ clueless).

"Sure you did," he answered quickly, still not letting his grin scape his lips.

As he turned to leave one more time, he stopped walking and once again he looked at her. "I'm Gustavo, by the way. If you ever need me." A small blink didn't scape her eyes and she frowned.

This time he finally left without turning back.

A sigh scaped her lips as Kimiko thought how lucky she was to find another Raimundo to make sure she wasn't having a calm, relaxing trip.

* * *

Admiting that the food was good when the irritating waiter was around didn't seem a nice thing to do in her opinion. Instead of thanking him for the dish as he came by to catch the plates, she ignored his presence instead and decided to look at the sea a few meters away from the diner.

The sun still shone over the water, but it moved a bit since she entered the place. Cars passed through the Avenue in front of her and the water reflected the golden colors of the sunlight a few more meters away.

People still gathered over the sand and she saw many families leaving and others walking around aimlessly. Children running, people talking and friends laughing. Everything seemed a little distant from her.

As much as she hated to admit, she missed the boys by her side, annoying her to no end with their meaningless talks about the world's largest sausage or the biggest spit they ever, well, spitted - way too much information sometimes.

The thought that she'd be joining them soon made her a little bit happier. Even though she still wasn't completely calmed down by today's events, she knew she could get over them and pretend nothing had happened.

It wasn't Raimundo's fault after all, right? She couldn't control who _he_ liked, and she could feel satisfied enough that he at least cared about her - as a sister.

Sighing, she gave a small, sad smile to no one in particular.

Well, it was a start.

A voice once again interrupted her thoughts, and once again from the same person she expected to forget, "Enjoying the view over there?"

The glare she gave her unwanted companion seemed to make him raise an eyebow.

"What now, _mister_?" she said pouting without noticing, angry at his intrusion.

Wouldn't this guy just leave her alone?

He raised his hands in a defensive gesture and shrugged, giving her one more cocky half-smile a few inches away from her, "Don't you think _I_ should ask you that, _miss_?"

"I didn't call you here," she retorted cruelly before he could even finish his phrase.

He let go one small laugh, rolling his eyes and looking away from her for a slight second.

His patience finally seemed to be vanishin, which was something good, considering she wanted to get rid of him as fast as she could. However, his laugh said something different, as if he still was having fun irritating her.

She wondered if his boss would find this behavior towards his costumers acceptabble. This Gulavo or whatever his name was, was clearly being inconvenient. She highly doubted a waiter should sound so sarcastic to his clients like he was sounding right now.

"I _know _you didn't call me here," he answered meeting her eyes again. "But, you see, I have to close the place and you're kind of in my way."

For a minute she stared at him blankly, trying to comprehend his words. Then, she looked around and finally noticed how empty the small diner was at the moment.

Moving her eyes back to the only person present besides her, Kimiko finally seemd to notice the absence of his black apron.

How-?

"What? But it's still-"

"Seven p.m.?" he asked, raising his eyebow.

Not believing his words, and ignoring the sigh the man gave as he moved to do something else nearby, Kimiko looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind the counter and nearly gasped.

He was right. Nine past seven p.m. to be more exact.

"But how-?" It still was daylight outside and-

"Daylight saving," he answered as he took the empty wodden chairs and started placing them upside down on their respective tables.

Kimiko rested her back over her chair and stared blankly ahead.

Did she just stay in there, _thinking_, for one hour and a half?

Seemed like that.

Usually her somewhat energetic personality prevented her from staying too llong in the same place without doing something to occupy her mind, like reading, checking messages on her phone or surfing on the internet.

Surprisingly, her cellphone remained unused during all of her stay at the diner.

She was pretty sure her friends were already looking for her.

Her hands searched for her cellphone inside her purse and quickly unlocked the screen, expecting to find missed call icons warning her. Surprisingly enough, there was nothing.

Shrugging, she thougt it would be better to go and find them. She didn't want them, or better Omi, to babble at her the whole trip back to China on how a girl should never be left alone for much time, "for they are very fragile and easy to get in danger".

No, thank you. _She _preferred to find them before giving Omi this satisfaction.

As she gathered her things from over the table and put her purse over her shoulder, her feet made her way to the back door which lead straight to the beach right after crossing the Avenue.

Reaching the patio door that occupied the whole entrance, however, she heard the waiter's voice calling for her, "You leaving already?"

Grunting and closing her fists, Kimiko turned her head to stare at him with a deadly glare.

She already knew that if she gave this man the chance, he wouldn't rest until he got what he wanted from her. Which wasn't something she was willing to do. She was sure that if she didn't say something, he might even go after her as soon as he closed the place.

"Look, I know you _might _be a nice guy and everything, but could you please, _please_, just leave _me_ alone? I'm really _not_ in the mood today, okay? It's the first time I ever visit this city and I don't wanna have a negative experience because of _you_." She knew she siad too much, but if this was enough for him to let her be, she was willing to risk a few more words.

"Wow!" he raised his eyebows in surprise, but once again, there was amusement in his eyes, making her roll her eyes. "I'm sorry, _miss_, but I'm not the one who came in here all grumpy and annoyed. I was just doing my _job_."

Grunting, her whole patience vanished. "You know what? Just _forget _it. I'm going."

Kimiko gripped the strap of her purse tightly around her hands and he wondered if in her head it was his neck she had her hands on.

He noticed the moment she walked in how tensed she was, but he never thought she'd be _that_ tense. His curiosity got the best of him and the next moment he found him trying to find out what was getting her so nervous.

Kimiko ignored the part of her head that tried to alert her on how it was harmful to let her anger control herself all that much. "For rage is a great obstacle on seeing things clearly and blinds our judgement" Master Fung's voice suddenly came into her thoughts as she remembered one of the many times he tried to teach her a lesson of self control - the lessons with those matters usually were directed towards her.

She ignored it this time as she turned to leave angrier than before. Something that was out of her reach to control, however, seemed to be at Master Fung's proverbs side since the next thing she knew, her body ran straight into a tall, lean figure who appeared to emerge out of nowhere when she was giving attention to her anger.

"Watch out," her voice came out a little bit louder than she expected. Her eyes moved directly to the mysterious person's face, and she made the best not let her mouth scape a gasp as she recognized those familiar features.

Sun kissed skin, light freckles spreading through cheeks and nose bridge, beautiful white teeth framed by a charismatic grin, defined chin line, thick dark eyebows and dark brown chocolate hair.

For a second, she was confused studying all of those traits that reminded her so much of Raimundo.

Yet, she knew it wasn't him, his skin had a darker tone (as if he spent way much more time under the sun), his chin was wider, since he looked at least four years older than the Shoku Warrior, and the most striking difference were his eyes color.

Instead of finding dark green emerald eyes, she met a light brown tone that looked green in one light - but nothing near Raimundo's.

Following today's events, Kimiko was sure her situation couldn't have gotten any worse.

She was wrong.

It looked like today was meant for her to learn some kind of lesson.

Widening her eyes, she finally remembered she wasn't dealing with a statue at a museum exhibit to stare at as long as she wished, but with another human being who had a hint of amusement in his brownish eyes at the moment.

"Hi, there, pretty girl," he said with a charming grin. One very similar to Raimundo's. "Like what you're seeing?"

Not knowing what to say at that, the Japanese was sure he already had the wrong impression of her for staring too much. Although she wasn't worried about what he thought about her (she could care less about _that)_, the idea that this habit of staring for too long could become somewhat usual worried her way much more. She really, _really_ hoped _Raimundo_ it didn't happened with Raimundo.

Looking down at her own feet, Kimiko tried to hopelessly explain herself. "Uh, it's not _that_."

As he listened to her words, he looked from the Japanese girl in front of him to the tanned man rolling his eyes right behind her.

He laughed and she couldn't see why he found what she said so funny. What was his _problem_?

"I see," he smiled and crossed his arms over his chest, switching his glance at the other man some feet behind Kimiko. "_Não passa um dia sem importunar alguém, né, cara?_" he laughed and walked straight to his side, patting his shoulder and then helping to close the diner.

"Sorry about this guy here, miss," the man who surprisingly looked like Raimundo said as he took one chair and put it upside down over a table nearby just like Kimiko's current Brazilian nuisance. "It's just that he's like that," he shrugged, "Annoying and grumpy. Specially with pretty girls like you," he blinked at her and Kimiko blushed. She usually didn't like it when men tried to hit on her like that, but the way he said it sounded friendly and not malicious as she already heard.

"But don't worry, Gustavo's a nice guy," once again he patted his friend's shoulder as he walked past him. Grunting, Gustavo only answered, "Oh, shut up," and went back to what he was doing before.

Still looking at the mysterious man who just appeared, curiosity took over her senses and she put aside take the opportunity to leave. She walked just a few steps towards the tanned, brown-eyed man.

He noticed her approaching and quickly looked at her with the same curiosity.

Blushing once again for being caught staring, she tried to explain herself, "I'm sorry, it's just that- You look a lot like someone I know."

Usually, finding someone similar to Raimundo wouldn't make her as curious as she was right now. But this man, _this _man was almost _identical _to him.

He raised his eyebow for a moment, trying to comprehend what she said. "Oh, I got it," he said in his deep voice. "Maybe you thought I was-" as he kept on trying to explain Kimiko's confusion, the man seemed to notice something on her features as well. It took him a while, but once he went back on talking he replied with something else, "You know what- Your face is familiar as well."

For a while, Kimiko didn't know what to do as he studied her, trying to figure out from where he saw her before. When he did, his whole expression changed and he quickly got up from where he was kneeling to take a flatware lost under a table.

"You're that Japanese girl my cousin talks about all the time," he snapped his fingers and smiled.

"Your what now?" Kimiko raised one eyebow, trying to understand what his words meant.

He laughed and approached her. "My cousin. Pretty sure you might know him. Lazy kid, annoys the heck outta people, cheeky, loves pranks, used to have a Spong Bob-like voice?"

She widened her eyes and quickly asked, "_You're_ Raimundo's _cousin_?" even if she already expected for him to be her leader's relative, the statement still got her by surprise.

Well, he _did_ mention having many cousins and siblings - so this guy surely wouldn't be the only Pedrosa relative she might meet.

He smiled, "Guilty. Tried to change it," he shrugged. "Never could," he laughed and gave her a handshake. "You're Kimiko right? The name's Thiago by the way, and Rai's more like my little brother, actually. We pretty much grew up together. Had to take care of him everytime my uncle and aunt were out for their circus peformance and stuff."

"Their _what_?" one more time, Kimiko couldn't help but feel surprised. "_Circus_?"

Thiago laughed one more time, finding her surprise funny. "Yep. My father and my uncle used to work in a circus. Raimundo never told you that?" He raised an eyebow.

Kimiko narrowed her eyes a little. Now that he said it, she remembered some moments where Raimundo would talk about trapezes and clowns, and men entering lion cages. "Oh," she said raising both her eyebows at the sudden realisation tha Raimundo Pedrosa used to _live _in a circus, "I think he mentioned some things about it, but I guess I never made the connection. Perhaps I thought he just frequented it," she shrugged. Everything made sense by now.

Thiago shook his head. "Oh, no. The little kid and I were born and raised in the circus. I mean, at last until he was seven, but at that time I alredy knew how to walk on tightropes and he was the best at flying trapezes."

"Oh, really?" she couldn't help but scowl, crossing her arms over her chest. "I thought the only things he liked were soccer and surfing," _and girls_, she added mentally.

Thiago laughed, replying quickly. "Well, yes. He used to surf a lot when we reached coastal cities, but he only got into it _after _we settled down in Rio, since our parents decided to put us on a school to give us better education. Not before we traveled all around Brazil, I think."

"Seems like you had quite an adventure," Kimiko couldn't contain her smile.

All of this story, even if still brief and short, sounded like Raimundo.

Traveling from place to place, learning different things from what schools teach, not settling down that easily and never knowing what would be found on the way (sometimes not even _knowing _the destination), it all fitted him.

Like the wind.

Her smile increased as she imagined a little green eyed boy with chubby cheeks and a little teddy bear always present between his arms walking around a big colorful circus tent, raised by people who problaby were part of his family and during the night transformed into clowns, contortionists, trapeze artists, lion tamers and ringmasters. She could also imagine the same inocent boy with his eyes widenning of amusement as he watched each performance, then learned to do almost everything they did. Maybe ride unicycles, paint clown faces, fit into very small cars and boxes, make magic tricks, walk on tight ropes, do somersaults and fly on trapezes.

She could see all of it, and she knew deep inside her heart that this all was true, and that Raimundo _did_ have a unique childhood.

Thiago also smiled at the girl in front of him, noticing how cheerful she got as he talked about his little cousin. She sure seemed different from the girls he used to have a crush on when both were little, but maybe that's why he heard so much about her, because she was rather unique and he could see it just by listening her speaking.

She appeared to have a very short temper and strong personality, but she was also controlled and affectionate. This girl was a walking contradiction, literally. She seemed to hate his cousin with everything she had but at the same time she clearly had a soft spot for him.

It's like that girl was a little box full of surprises and he couldn't predict her next reaction.

He remembered Raimundo complaining about a girl who threw him straight into a wall some days after his departure to the monk school. Thiago was sure Kimiko was this girl.

And right now, there she was, problaby thinking about his cousin as if she would _never_ do anything in the world to harm him... like throw him into walls with martial arts moves, or punch him and throw eletronic devices at him.

This small, Japanese, fragile-looking girl sure was interesting.

She finally seemed to notice how he was staring at her and she quickly blushed, avoiding his eyes.

Thiago smiled at her current sheepish state and finally said, "Rai's around here right now, isn't he?"

"Uh, yeah," she answered, but he had to raise an eyebow at her apparent scowl.

"Well, it's been a while since I last saw that brat. Might as well pay him a little visit right?" he blinked.

_**Glossary**_

**Suco de maracujá: **Passion Fruit Juice (common in Brazil)

**"Com licença, você já fez seu pedido?": **Excuse me, have you ordered yet?

**"Não passa um dia sem importunar alguém, né, cara?" : **You can't spend one day without teasing someone, can you, man?

* * *

**I promise with all my heart that next chapter will have Raimundo. (this chapter was way much longer than I expected, sorry :/) Read and review please! You know how it goes. **

**Review=motivation.**


	3. A Pleasant, Peculiar One

**Heya! Uhm, sorry again for the two months delay...? Well, better late than never right?**

**Anyways, special thanks for the AMAZING **evanescentflame421** for beta reading this chapter! Really, you helped a lot 3**

**I said in the first chapter that this story wouldn't be more than three chapters long, but I take back what I said - it'll be four chapters long otherwise this chapter would get too big :/**

**Also, thanks for the reviews - the answers to each of your questions is right down here ;)**

**ForgetfulDaffodil - **Haha, yup, Brazillians guys *sigh* Not just that. Handsome guys altogether are the problem lol

**Kat - **Ahhh, thanks! Actually, it always got me sad that the creators never tried to expand Raimundo's past story like Kim's or Clay's (even Omi's for the matter, since he got a whole episode about him looking for his real family). And, yup. Honestly, I never visited Copacabana, but I made a lot of researches around to give a nice description to it ;) So good to know that you could relate to that ! ^/^

**MikanHZ - **Oh, thank you! I'm Brazillian actually, so it's pretty easy for me when it comes to Raimundo's mother tongue - thought it was a nice idea to add a little bit more of Brazillian knowledge to the fic.

**evanescentflame421 - **Thanks! Uhm, you just got your wish! Raimundo and his cousin seeing each other on the way ;D

**Faithful Followe - **Thank you so much! I'm really glad fo this! *blushes*

* * *

_Chapter 3 - A Pleasant, peculiar one_

Clay started to get worried.

He woke up a little while after closing his eyes just to take a quick and harmless nap, and now two of his friends were missing.

Regarding Raimundo, it was to be expected. In normal situations, when there was no danger or any situation that could put his team in danger, the Brazilian was the first one to disappear; be it to take a nap or... well, go hook up with a girl somewhere.

This time, Clay went for the second option. A beautiful blond girl got his attention just before falling asleep and he knew Raimundo would also notice her sooner or later. In fact, it was just a matter of time for him to go out of sight. With the pretty girl by his side, of course.

Now Kimiko was a different story. Even if once in a while she _did_ decide to move away from the group after noticing a product that got her attention, she'd never disappear without telling someone; like Raimundo did.

Omi said she did inform him (saying something like "Go walk in circles", which Clay assumed to be "Go walk around"), but Kimiko never went away without saying _where _she was going.

Something must have happened while he took that nap, Clay was sure about it. And something told him Raimundo was slightly responsible for that. He and that pretty blonde, to be exact.

Raising the brim of his hat with one hand, the cowboy looked for his cell phone inside the bag (a modern one, surprisingly easy to use, that Kimiko gave him as a birthday present) and quickly went for his Japanese friend's number in his contact list.

The phone emitted four beeps before directing him to the voicemail.

"Kim, it's me," he said, knowing she'd recognize his voice and the number recorded on her phone. "Where are ya? We're looking for ya."

He ended the call and turned his attention to Omi, sitting on the sand beside him, apparently distracted by the waves.

Gathering his things and remembering Dojo's presence on his head - who looked like he still was taking a little nap, Clay thought about what he should do next.

Raimundo always seemed to be able to find his group before they could even start looking for him (or even notice his absence). Moreover, he's already used to this place. It would be easier for _him_ to find them rather than the other way around.

Opening his mouth to tell Omi they should start looking for Kimiko, Clay noticed Raimundo approaching from the western side of the beach with his surfboard in hand and... surprisingly alone.

The smile on his face and some red marks around his neck partially hidden by the hood of his green sweatshirt, however, did not escape Clay's eyes.

Yup, Kimiko was probably flipping the tables somewhere on this beach.

Clay sighed as Raimundo approached.

How long would this thing last?

"Hey," the smile didn't leave the Shoku Warrior's face as he switched his surfboard from one side to the other. His green eyes looking for a presence that was not there at the moment.

Clay sighed again.

"Where's Kim?"

"Ohhh, she went to walk in circles somewhere else," Omi waved his hand dismissively to Raimundo without turning his eyes from the waves in front of him, quickly answering the question as if signaling to his leader to stop talking so loudly that he muffled the sound of the waves.

Raimundo lifted one eyebrow.

"You mean 'walk around'," he corrected the Chinese boy who only replied with a _"Yes, yes, whatnever,"_ and another wave of his small hand.

Raimundo sighed, not bothering to correct the little monk once more and turned to Clay.

"You have any idea where she might've gone? We better go before Master Fung gets more pissed than he already might be," the Wind Warrior knew they already were in trouble for abusing a little too much of the time, but he also knew that they could still escape a worse lecture if they were quick.

Clay's stomach interrupted his thoughts with a loud and alarming growl.

Omi finally seemed to take his eyes off the waves to look at his American friend. His small brown eyes widened in surprise.

Even Dojo, who still was in a deep sleep under his hat and, so far, hadn't opened his eyes even with the unexpected change of movement, woke up in alarm as he lifted the piece of fabric from the cowboy's blond hair and took a quick look around. "What happened?! It sounded like a bear," his small green head frantically turned from one side to the other as he looked for said animal. "I didn't know there were bears in Braz-"

Clay's right hand quickly sunk the hat back to its initial position the moment he saw a group of people approaching the three monks enough to be able to spot the small eastern dragon on the top of his head.

A girl noticed how Clay and Raimundo stared at them with forced smiles, she raised one eyebrow at that but kept walking with the rest of her friends. Yet, she could've sworn she saw some kind of weird gecko on the top of that _gringo_'s head...but it was probably her imagination.

Taking his heavy hand from over his head (as the dragon begged for air for being mercilessly crushed), Clay sighed, looking up, "Don't leave the hat yet, Dojo! There's more people in here than my aunt Nancy's house on a Thanksgiving day."

Raimundo rolled his eyes as the dragon's protests about his sensitive scales were muffled by the thick fabric of the cowboy's hat.

"You hungry, man?" the Brazilian said, ignoring Dojo's complaints.

Said cowboy rested his hand over his belly, "Sure thing, partner."

Raimundo gave him a sly smile and said, "Great, my cousin has a small diner nearby. I think we can still get there before he closes the place."

And with that, the threat of Master Fung's lecture was completely forgotten as he led his friends towards his cousin's diner.

* * *

Although she wouldn't admit it out loud, Kimiko was relieved to see she wouldn't need to keep her curiosity about Raimundo to herself, since Thiago seemed excited to tell her several things about his cousin.

His smile was charming, like Rai's - Kimiko noticed; although for her, the Shoku Warrior's was more captivating. Unlike Thiago, however, Raimundo seemed to know the effect his looks and charisma had on people, which made him even more confident to try to lure others.

This ability, according to Thiago, her leader acquired - no - _realized_ he had - when still very young, every time he begged for something that had been denied at first.

The Japanese girl, however, suspected that Raimundo "accidentally" learned it through Thiago, since the last also seemed to have some kind of influence towards people around him.

The two continued to walk through the sand, its color seeming to grow darker and darker as the sun went down. The sky by now acquired a tone between day and night, with darker, purplish colors in the highest areas and pink and yellow ones in the small part around the sun.

The wind seemed to grow stronger, yet felt warm and comforting, although Kimiko started to feel a little bit cold. Her dark raven hair brushed against her cheeks a few times and the small plastic bag she held in one hand, containing two Styrofoam boxes full of snacks prepared by Thiago to give to his cousin, made a sharp noise, although not annoying.

The beach was practically empty by now and just a few people remained. All of them (probably tourists or students on their summer breaks) deciding to spread around the sand to get as far from each other as possible, next only to those who were acquainted, to try to get some more privacy to talk or just silently watch the sunset.

Gustavo - the guy whose name she finally managed to remember - followed her and Thiago incredibly silently. The little times Kimiko risked to look back at him, wondering if he still was following them, she found his eyes glued to his cell phone - a serious expression taking over his features.

Maybe because he probably didn't want to be there. Which was obvious - even more since it was Thiago's fault in a way, who practically dragged him along to go and see Raimundo. Or rather, the black-haired man seemed unable to find a nice way to say he didn't want to go...

The truth was, even though he insisted he wasn't willing to follow them, his brown eyes seemed to move toward Kimiko for brief seconds and he suddenly sighed, agreeing in the end.

Now, there he was... stuck with them because of his boss - though both seemed more like good friends than anything else.

Turning his attention back to Raimundo's cousin, Kimiko gave him a small smile as he explained how her leader got his fear for jellyfishes.

Rai was only six at the time and was going through a curiosity phase. He liked to hear people reading to him about animals - of all types and from everywhere around the world. From the large whales that swam through the ocean, to the smallest type of ants that could carry leaves as big as the nail of his little finger.

Everything fascinated him, and he learned a thing or two about jellyfishes a week before his family arrived to the coast of Alagoas - one of the northeastern Brazilian states. There, he ventured himself into the water without warning his parents or anyone else around and started his search for jellyfishes.

_At first, since he didn't have much luck in his quest, he risked walking more and more toward the deepest parts of the sea until the water reached his chest - by now his parents noticed his absence and his mother screamed at the sight of her son so far from the sand._

_Raimundo looked at his mother, startled by her sudden sign of despair when nothing seemed wrong in his eyes. Until he felt something relatively soft caressing his feet._

_A small triumphant smile began to take over his features before a strong amount of water, pushed by the sudden appearance of a gust of wind, hit his whole body at once and he found himself completely immersed in the water._

_For some reason, what once felt harmless as it rubbed his small feet, began to push him mercilessly away from the surface. His foot felt something long and thin wrapping around it, followed by small and sharp objects penetrating his skin like teeth._

_Raimundo could remember very well from his studies that jellyfishes shouldn't have teeth. He tried desperately to break free, but the water didn't help him either as it pushed his body further away from the shallow part._

_In a desperate attempt, the boy tried to return back to the surface by kicking his legs to get as much air as possible, but another wave hit his face before he could even suck oxygen into his lungs, filling them with more salty water instead. His whole body shook violently without him even knowing why. Although he tried to remove those tentacles from his feet and shins, he began to lose hope._

_As mere seconds seemed more like hours, in a last attempt Raimundo tried to break free from those _things_ that pulled him deeper and deeper into the water. _

_Knowing that opening his eyes was the best option at the moment, although feeling terrified of what he might find, Raimundo decided to free his feet._

_His eyelids opened and his green eyes burned at the great amount of salt in the water... and that's when he saw it. In the dark, deepest part - the part that started to surround his small body - two red eyes, scarier than the abyss bellow them._

_At that, Raimundo opened his mouth, shouting as the little air that still remained in his lungs left him in the form of bubbles. Clouds of blood surrounded him, and he finally passed out without noticing the hands of both his parents pulling him back to the surface._

Kimiko gasped in horror, almost covering one of her hands over her mouth. She stopped herself.

_Rai is fine now; it's ridiculous for you to get all shocked, Kimiko,_ she repeated to herself as she stared at the ground for a few seconds, ashamed, yet worried.

Doubt invaded her thoughts and she soon faced Thiago, curious. "But what was that _thing_ that pulled Raimundo then?"

He shrugged and seemed to pull out a humorless smile. "Believe it or not, it was just a fishing net dumped into the water. But Raimundo swore to everyone it was a jellyfish, he kept claiming it had teeth and stuff, but he actually got hurt by some broken glass - my aunt and uncle got really pissed because, believe me, that thing is not so common - it was my cousin who got 'lucky'; worse yet was that he never swam in that beach anymore. At first it was actually pretty difficult to even convince him to go back into the water - I at least wanted to teach him how to swim, since it's easier to prevent this kind of risk than to pretend it could never happen again - but eventually he showed interest in surfing and everything went smooth after that."

Thiago shrugged again and, this time, his smile seemed more real. "Now the kid doesn't want to get out of the water."

Kimiko answered with a similar smile and both kept walking through the sand. The Japanese, though, seemed not to be able to contain her curiosity and opened her mouth to ask things about his brothers and sisters, who Raimundo usually mentioned once in a while.

A nearly high-pitched voice was what could be heard instead, and the three looked directly at the source of such noise a few meters ahead.

"Kimiko!" Omi almost cried out with his skinny arms raised in the air in an obvious sign of joy. "We were looking for you!"

_So cute,_ Kimiko thought smiling.

Beside him, Clay walked with his cell phone in hand and only looked up when hearing his friend's sudden yell. He pushed the brim of his cowboy hat away from his eyes to have a better view and smiled in relief once noticing that his other friend was safe and sound. Not that she didn't know how to take care of herself, but he cared about her anyways.

Raimundo, however, seemed to be the first one who spotted her, even before Omi did. His frown was visible even from where the Japanese girl was standing and she remembered that, from afar, it looked like she was walking with two complete strangers. The expression of his green eyes, however, quickly changed once he realized the familiar face beside her.

The tips of her lips fell just a little when his attention towards her vanished as fast as it appeared.

She still didn't stop smiling, though. She felt light again at the sight of Raimundo laughing and speeding up to give his cousin a hug. His arms were wide open, but once he got close enough, he seemed to think twice. His cheeks quickly acquired a reddish tone and he lowered his arms in embarrassment.

With that, Kimiko couldn't help but give a bigger smile. Her free hand moving quickly to her mouth, hiding her amusement and laugh through a small cough. Still, her eyes lit up with amusement.

She pictured that little, cute boy with a teddy bear clung by his small arms and his eyes full of innocence, just like a few seconds ago.

Thiago, after noticing the drastic change in his cousin's movements right in front of him, laughed, pulled the young teenager towards him and gave him a slight noogie, ruffling his dark brown hair.

They both laughed and, once Raimundo got free from his cousin's grip, started to talk in (_very_) quick Portuguese. Clay, with success in just a few words, tried to understand their conversation as Dojo tried to take a peek of what was going on through the blond cowboy's hat. Omi seemed the most confused of them all.

Thiago soon noticed his cousin's friends and cleared his throat as he remembered it was best to keep on talking in English.

"Dude, I _never_ thought I'd pull one of our uncles..." the older Pedrosa said. "But I gotta tell you, you've grown too much!" He straightened his back in front of his relative and raised his eyebrows even more at the sight of how their height difference was almost nonexistent. "Pretty soon, you're gonna get even taller than me, man," he laughed. "But, y'know, aunt Deborah has always been pretty tall herself; not to mention uncle Benício, the eternal beanpole, right?" At this, Raimundo gave him a slight poke in the ribs with his elbow.

"Look _who's_ talking!" he laughed.

Thiago rolled his eyes. "You've got to see Enzo and Renan then, man," he said. "Those two are almost our height as well. But they still act like five-year-old brats."

Raimundo smiled even more at the mention of his young twin brothers. The same ones whose traps and pranks the Shoku Warrior himself taught when they were little.

Although those two were the ones who spent more time planning new practical jokes, they never were quite able to reach their older brother's level, leaving him unbeaten as the king of pranks and jokes. It was like Raimundo knew exactly how each of their traps would be before they could even _think_ of putting them into practice.

It took a while for both to stop talking about their family and finally turn their attention towards the two Xiaolin monks standing by their side and waiting for some kind of explanation. Omi being the most restless, wanting to try to understand what was happening.

Raimundo noticed Gustavo behind his cousin and smiled as he moved towards the dark-haired Brazilian; both giving a brief pound hug after clasping their hands in a loud noise.

For some reason Kimiko blushed, but said nothing as the two exchanged words.

Then, Raimundo finally directed his attention toward her. "Where did you find them, Kim?"

She felt speechless for a short period of time, her throat getting dry quickly for unknown reasons, but she soon composed herself and said, "I found your brother's diner," in response, she raised the white plastic bag containing boxes filled with, as Raimundo could tell by the smell, food .

He smiled even more to it, those white teeth catching the attention of her blue eyes for a while, and it surprised her that it had enough of an effect on her to make her heart beat faster. Still, she was already used to such a reaction.

Raimundo's cheeks blushed quickly, but the Japanese assumed it was because of the sweatshirt her leader was wearing (although the place was getting cold, it still was kind of hot to wear something like that).

She couldn't say anything else, because in the next moment he went back to Thiago and introduced him to Clay and Omi, who finally begun to understand the whole story.

The two cousins then went back to talk about their family, mentioning their cousins, siblings, uncles and aunts. Each trying to remind of past events that could compromise the other's reputation.

In one of these moments, when Thiago talked about the famous Ninja Fred, Raimundo put his arms over his cousin's shoulders and tried to give him a noogie to make him stop talking.

In the process, a good part of his hoodie rose, exposing a small area of his back to Kimiko - who was a few feet behind him, listening quietly to the conversation. At first, she blushed without even thinking, but something caught her attention as the Shoku Warrior went back to his initial position.

Were these things on his shoulder... marks?

Just above the collar line of his sweatshirt, vainly covered by his hood - they were red marks.

_Holy s- _her jaw dropped slightly. _Are those...?_

And at that moment, Kimiko knew - it was hard not to, after seeing those _things_ on his neck - what he was doing so far.

But _how_ far he went with that girl, she didn't want to know. Too much information, for sure.

Knowing that no one would notice her absence for a few minutes, she walked closer to the sea, exactly where the tides marked the sand.

Everything got heavy and she hated herself for it.

That feeling that tightened her chest came back, and she got furious at the thought that the fire was supposed to be _by_ her side. Instead, it joined her feelings - so uncontrolled at the moment - and decided to burn her on the inside.

Her cheeks heated up and she hugged herself.

It burned, but she still felt cold outside.

Why her? Why exactly was it _she_, Kimiko Tohomiko, who was the one who seemed to feel most in the group?

Because she was a girl?

_No, _certainly _not._

Because she was clearly liking someone?

Maybe.

The wind moved from the salty water to her face as if trying to caress her, as if sensing what she was feeling at the moment and wanting to comfort in her some way.

At least it didn't feel like pity.

Not a single tear escaped her blue eyes - it would be ridiculous to cry. Yet, something made her indifferent all of a sudden. Her rational part, which until now was mercilessly thrown into the corner of her mind, took the control back and tried to give her some kind of defense mechanism to protect her from everything that happened.

_That's ridiculous._

She sighed. A deep and exhausted one, as if trying to expel all of the damages done in the day.

For now, she seemed to take back her control.

And in the end, Master Fung seemed to win.

She could even picture her master's smile, framed by that gray mustache that gave him a look much older than he really was.

"Nice night," she suddenly heard a voice some feet behind her body.

She didn't need to turn completely to know who it was, but she couldn't resist the temptation to stare at him from the corner of her eyes.

A faint smile crossed his face.

It was night and once again Kimiko didn't seem to notice. The moon seemed to have appeared a few minutes ago - between the time they left Thiago's diner and their reunion with Clay, Omi, and Raimundo.

Followed by a smile, a dry, humorless laugh escaped her lungs, as if her rational part was laughing at herself for acting so childishly in the last few hours.

She regretted the way she behaved towards Gustavo - even more now as she realized that he actually was trying to be nice to her ever since the beginning. That made her feel even worse. She _did_ like him... too.

She coughed and blushed at this thought and tried to avoid it.

Noticing the small sound coming out of her throat, Gustavo raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Kimiko turned to face him this time and did not fail to give a bigger smile at the Brazilian's curious and innocent expression.

The next laugh that escaped her mouth was more humored.

Her blue eyes moved from his face back to the dark sky ahead of her - the sea reflecting the few stars that decided to show up that very night.

"It's nothing," the Japanese finally answered, letting out a long sigh.

A silence settled for a few seconds before he once again said something. "It's good to finally see you smiling."

Kimiko looked at him again and his shoulders seemed to tense a little bit, as if afraid to have irritated her with such a comment.

She rolled her eyes and, tired of fighting or retorting with nervous sentences, let out another sigh before muttering, "Yeah, today wasn't a good day for me, I guess."

"Oh," was his only answer, which left her relieved, since it seemed he wasn't trying to deepen the subject.

Again, both remained silent and the sound of Raimundo's conversation with his cousin a few meters behind was easy to understand. Kimiko blinked more than usual for while - until Gustavo decided to speak again and the sound of his voice startled her a little bit. "I know it kind of sounds strange to ask but..." he hesitated, which got her curious enough to stare at him, "Are your _parents_ Japanese?"

She raised one of her eyebrows and it seemed to alarm him, making him even more embarrassed and eager to try to explain, "It's just- I meant, if you're descendant of someone else other than Japanese, since- Uh, well..." Kimiko couldn't resist the urge to smile at the embarrassment of the man beside her. "Well, it's just that you have blue eyes and it's not usual for me to find Japanese people with that... eye... color...?"

She laughed and covered her mouth with one hand.

"You're right," she shrugged.

"Oh," he waited for a more specific answer and it took her a while to do so.

"My mother was a Norwegian descendant... I think."

This time it was Gustavo who raised her an eyebrow, "You _think_?"

"Oh, well ..." Kimiko shrugged. "I... It's just- I never asked my father too much about her."

"Hm," with this answer, the Brazilian seemed unsure of his next question. But this time, it was Kimiko who decided to break the silence with a new subject.

"I... uhm," she bit her lip and avoided Gustavo's gaze on her, staring at the sand with strange interest. "I apologize for how I behaved a few hours ago."

He stared at her with slightly wide eyes, and smiled with a weak sigh. "Don't worry about that," he hid his hands in the pockets of his shorts and the Japanese blushed when noticing how long they seemed to be. "I'm almost like a bartender in that place, y'know? I got pretty used to it with people coming at me to talk about stories that aren't so nice to hear."

"Oh, really?" the statement made the dark-haired girl visibly curious. "And what kind of stories have you heard so far?"

Gustavo gave her a mischievous grin before slyly replying, "Sorry. Can't tell ya. I swore an oath to keep the secret of all my clients' stories, no matter how frightening, disgusting or illegal they can be..."

"Really?"

"No."

Kimiko stared at him with a small pout forming on her lips for letting herself be fooled so easily. "_No_ for 'I swore an oath to keep the secrets of all my clients' stories', or _no_ for there not being such things as 'frightening, disgusting and illegal stories'?"

He laughed and stared at her with a half grin and raised eyebrow. Instead of answering, he chose to say something else. "But it's a shame you ended up getting so many negative first impressions about this place."

Kimiko looked at him again, surprised by what he just said. She then bit her lower lip and shrugged. "Well, I hope I have other chances to visit Rio, then. I still think I might change my mind."

Her eyes went back to the almost indiscernible horizon ahead, hidden by the dark of the night. The sound of the waves was louder than ever and another refreshing gust of wind hit her white (or probably sunburned) face.

The chances of Kimiko returning to Rio de Janeiro anytime soon were almost inexistent, but it didn't mean this was her _last_ visit to the place. There still were so many places she still wanted to know, not only the beach, but the city itself. Not to mention other places around Brazil, such as São Paulo, Salvador and even the state of Santa Catarina - where Raimundo was born.

Kimiko quickly turned her face back and realized that Raimundo seemed to be giving his farewells to his cousin. She sighed and promised that this would be the last of the day. She looked one more time at the sea and didn't understand why Gustavo seemed to get so restless out of a sudden.

Knowing that she wouldn't get any answer from him if she waited, Kimiko decided she'd be the first to say something as she finally took her eyes of the ocean.

"Well, I guess I should b-" something touched her right wrist, which startled her - even more when she noticed it was Gustavo's hand preventing her from leaving.

She frowned at that and before she could say something, got pulled closer to him.

Her lips soon felt his over hers and Kimiko stood there - in shock.

If anyone else ever tried to do what Gustavo just did with her, the Japanese would not have thought twice before sending said person to the other side of the planet with a well-given kick between their legs.

But with him, something felt different. It wasn't something _strong_, she knew that, but it wasn't something disagreeable either. It was good, actually... and pleasant.

His lips were soft and affectionate; and seemed to wait for some kind of reaction on her part before trying anything else.

Kimiko closed her eyes before thinking straight and her body tried a steadier position so she could focus only on the touch of her lips on Gustavo's.

Her free hand reacted at the same time his face began to move over hers and she brushed the tips of her fingers over the line of his jaw.

At the new touch, Gustavo involved her face with his hands, bringing her closer to him.

Soon, his lips parted and he deepened the kiss.

Kimiko squinted at the new sensation, but quickly got used to it and just went with it.

Once their faces parted, she kept her eyes closed for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened. When she finally decided to look up, he was licking his lips and stared at her with his face slightly flushed.

"First impressions are usually important, huh?" he laughed a little bit.

Everything around her seemed out of place, as if something was wrong yet at the same time it all felt right.

_Wait, what?_ Kimiko asked herself as she moved away from him. Her body quickly missed the contact.

She smiled at him, unable to form coherent sentences in her head. "I ..."

Gustavo held her hand for a few seconds and looked at her straight in the eye, a sad smiled forming on his lips. "Alright..." he said, as if Kimiko had just told him a full sentence.

He leaned once again stealing a quick peck from her lips - that sad smile still there. "It was nice to meet you, Kimiko Tohomiko."

With this comment she could not help but smile and blush at the same time.

"Same, Gustavo Costa," the Japanese was surprised at herself for remembering his full name (printed in that name tag stuck on the apron he once wore).

The two held their gazes for a few moments until Kimiko walked away, leaving his hand along with the last contact between their skin.

She turned away and went back to her friends' group in complete silence, hearing their conversation without paying any real attention until Thiago finally turned to her.

"Well, it was really nice meeting you, Miss Tohomiko," in a good-tempered gesture, he took the Japanese's small hand and kissed it quickly.

She blushed slightly and laughed. "Same to you, Mister Thiago Pedrosa."

The Brazilian looked at her for some more seconds. "See if you can convince my cousin to pass by more often - once his parents are around, preferably - so you can meet them. I'm sure they'd love knowing you," for some reason, he winked at her.

"Oh, um. Sure thing," Kimiko shrugged and smiled.

The tall, tanned man then started walking toward Gustavo's side - who had his hands in his pocket and eyes strangely interested on the sand below- and turned their backs to the Xiaolin group.

Kimiko just followed her own friends by instinct, paying more attention to her thoughts than to Omi's comments by her side.

Gustavo's hair was wavy enough to get her playing with the waves with her fingers.

His hands were strong and affectionate, just like his lips on hers.

When they parted their faces, she noticed that his eyes were lighter in the center than at the edges of his irises.

He also had more freckles than she thought at first and he smelled like some kind of citrus cologne.

At each mental note she made, Kimiko blushed and smiled more.

She just couldn't believe she finally got her first kiss.

It was so different from what she usually heard - many girls complained about their first experience...

The Japanese then concluded that her case was a peculiar one.

A pleasant, peculiar one.

The four Xiaolin Warriors finally found a hiding place among trees near the coast - discreet enough for them to leave. Dojo came out from under Clay's hat and quickly turned into his giant form.

"All aboard _Dojo Airlines, _please. Destination, a rather nervous Master Fung for your lack of consideration towards time."

Omi sighed at such a comment and yawned as he climbed the back of the green dragon. "Please Dojo, do not comment about Master Fung now, I wish to avoid this thought as much as possible."

Clay laughed as he helped the sleepy monk to climb the dragon. "Y' took the words right out of my mouth, partner."

Omi raised an eyebrow at the comment. "How does one take letters and such abstract elements from the other's mouth?"

"Never mind," the cowboy sighed as he climbed the dragon as well.

Kimiko laughed lightly and looked for some gaps between the scales of Dojo's body to support her hands and climbed on, her thoughts still tending towards what had happened some minutes ago. Her left foot slipped as it tried to gain a boost and the Japanese staggered backwards, her hands losing their grip on the scales.

Raimundo's arm was fast enough and held her back as his hand instinctively gripped her waist.

Once gaining back balance, Kimiko blushed.

"Thanks, Rai," she smiled and looked at him only to find his green eyes... cold.

The moonlight illuminated his face enough to emphasize the fact that there was no trace of joy in his features. On the contrary. He seemed nervous and frightfully intimidating, staring at her as no other emotion escaped his eyes.

"It's okay," was his only answer in a harsh and icy voice.

In a reaction of surprise, Kimiko couldn't speak any more - the situation worsened when she felt his arms move away from her body and she watched him climb the dragon in complete silence.

She didn't understand what had just happened, but climbed Dojo in the same silence as she stared at Raimundo's back.

Did she say anything?

She couldn't even _remember_ talking too much with him the whole day.

She shrugged, yet couldn't help but feel worried.

She looked at his back again and noticed how it seemed tensed beneath the thick fabric of his sweatshirt. She waited for him to say something, but ended up just watching the strands of his brown hair blowing in the wind as Dojo started to fly across the dark sky, illuminated only by the pale moonlight, the few clouds on the sky getting closer each second.

Something tightened in her chest once she realized that he wouldn't turn to her nor speak for the rest of their long trip.

She sighed.

**_Glossary_**

**_Gringo:_**is a term used to talk about a foreign person (usually North American).

* * *

**Hey! Hope you liked this one. Kind of Mexican soap opera, but whatever - I like some angst crap heheh **

**Review=love and motivation**

**Again thanks to **evanescentflame421**! You're amazing.**


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